Noah Hovey of New Prospect Church, Anderson, just completed his second year of Children’s Bible Drill. He has memorized 50 Bible verses, 25 each year, as well as learning to locate any Bible book in less than 10 seconds. Noah can also tell you where key Bible passages are located, such as the Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount.
From left: Carrigan Hovey, Noah Hovey, and Devin Dickerson of New Prospect Church, Anderson.On April 30, Noah was one of more than 200 children in South Carolina to participate in the State Children’s Bible Drills. Drills were held simultaneously at three sites: Florence First Church, St. Andrews Church in Columbia, and Anderson First Church.
When asked about his favorite part of Bible Drill, Noah responded that it was “finding out that I passed (to move on to) state drill.” To qualify for the state drill, children must successfully participate in drills in their own church and in their association. Preparations for the drills begin months before as children and their leaders meet weekly for learning activities and practice.
“The children start with memorizing the verses, location of key passages, and the books of the Bible in order,” according to Caroline Perez, Bible Drill consultant for the South Carolina Baptist Convention’s childhood ministry group. “Leaders help them work on accuracy and technique in practice drills.”
Noah says that practicing for Bible Drill is not too hard. His sister Carrigan, a first-year driller, thinks it is easy to learn to find the books of the Bible, but finds the time limit to be a challenge. Their fellow driller from New Prospect, Devin Dickerson, reiterated, “Finding the books is not hard, but finding them before the time limit is!”
All the learning and practice pays off in several ways. One is the satisfaction of completing the challenge of memory, accuracy and speed. Also, the children receive a certificate of recognition for participating in their church drill. A gold seal is added for participating in the associational drill, and they earn another seal for being in the state drill. The state drill seals are labeled according to the child’s success level. For 19 or fewer correct answers out of 24, the child receives a “State Participant” seal. For 20-23 correct, they receive a “State Winner” seal. Those who have no mistakes earn the coveted “State Perfect” recognition.
The greatest payoff, however, is longer term. “Whether they realize it or not, knowing verses and the books of the Bible will be with them forever,” says Perez. “Bible Drill is a wonderful systematic way to help teach children about the Bible, but more importantly, it helps lay a foundation for a love of God’s Word that lasts beyond the childhood years.”